PinkSeoul is a monthly Korean beauty subscription box curated to your skin type. They focus on customized, full-sized, and curated products that are designed to guide you in your K-beauty journey of discovery. You can also shop their online store for more K-beauty goodies!
PinkSeoul offers 3 subscription types. The PinkSeoul Box is $39.95 every two months with retail value over $60. The PinkSeoul Plus Box is recommended for subscribers age 35+, $49.95 every two months with retail value over $80. These two boxes are shipped bi-monthly and each box contains at least 4 full-sized items plus an accessory item. The PinkSeoul Mask Box is $29.95 every month with 10 customized mask products and an accessory item.
This review is of the PinkSeoul Plus Box for Oily skin types.
The Subscription Box: PinkSeoul Plus Box
The Cost: $49.95 bi-monthly
COUPON: Save 10% off your first box with code MSA10!
The Products: at least 4 full-sized K-beauty products customized to your skin type and an accessory item
Ships to: USA (free shipping), Canada ($8.95 shipping), and other countries listed here ($15.95 shipping)
Good to know: PinkSeoul and PinkSeoul Plus subscribers who sign up in March will receive their next box in May, whereas subscribers who sign up in April receive their next box in June. During the March/April period the boxes are the same for both sets of subscribers, just shipped out at different times.
Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add PinkSeoul to your subscription list or wishlist!
Prior to purchasing a subscription, PinkSeoul will ask you several customization questions. Be sure to figure out what your skin type is because, for example, some ingredients are more compatible with dry skin than with oily skin.
All first-time subscribers receive a detailed "welcome" card that introduces Korean skincare routine basics and tips on how to incorporate those skincare into your daily life. I would keep this card somewhere handy especially if you're new to K-beauty or find all of the steps confusing.
The March info card is just as detailed and extremely informative. First, there are some basic tips about your skin type-- mine is oily. It was fun to learn that donkey milk is good for oily skinned people! There are also instructions on how and where in your routine to apply each product. The card states that full ingredient lists and label information can be found on their website.
Skinfood Black Sugar Mask 100g - $14.70 (on sale for $13.95)
All subscribers get this classic Black Sugar Mask from Skinfood. It's a mineral-enriched Brazilian black sugar-based exfoliating mask and face scrub. I've used this mask before. It looks and feels like brown sugar and smells delicious. I would follow the info card's recommendation to thin the consistency down with water first before applying to your face. When I first tried without adding any water it felt too abrasive. If you enjoy physical exfoliation, this is a good and inexpensive scrub/mask to try.
The tiny spatula is a bonus from PinkSeoul. I thought it was for applying the Skinfood mask but it turns out it's meant more for the Mizon snail cream.
Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner 200ml - $16.95
Note: For some reason the ingredient list on PinkSeoul is inconsistent with the list on the bottle itself and other websites. PinkSeoul states that bee venom is the last ingredient on its site but bee venom is not listed on the bottle.
I'm a fan of Benton products and but haven't tried this toner before. It contains soothing and moisturizing ingredients such as aloe, snail secretion filtrate, and glycerin. It also contains some salicylic acid, also called BHA. The toner has no discernible scent and dries very quickly. I found it quite moisturizing. The consistency is slightly thicker than water, which caught me off guard but is very pleasant to apply once I got the hang of it.
Mizon Black Snail All-In-One Cream 75ml - $53.95 (2.4oz for $13.39 on Amazon)
Mizon's snail cream has me so excited! The cream is made of 90% black snail secretion filtrate and a host of plant extracts. It helps improve skin tone, dull complexion, dark spots, pore, and the appearance of wrinkles. It is a thick, creamy moisturizer, but after it's fully absorbed into the skin it feels lightweight and isn't sticky. A little cream goes a long way. This is a huge jar too so I don't need to buy new moisturizer for a while.
Verysix Six Seconds Lip Gloss - $14 (on sale for $11.95)
Verysix is a new brand for me. I like the slanted applicator tip of this lip gloss. At first the bright coral color looked intimidating but the gloss sheers out considerably when applied. It gives my lips just a hint of shiny, moisturizing color. Plus, it's not sticky!
Washing Headband - $7
PinkSeoul included a soft headband in various colors in each March/April box. I love wearing this while I do masks.
Swatch of Verysix lip gloss.
SNP Gold Collagen Ampoule Mask - $3
I like the golden piggy on the package. The sheet mask has flecks of gold embedded in it! I'm not sure if the gold actually does anything to improve my skin, but no complaints here when I'm feeling like royalty. It has a strong perfume-y smell that may not be enjoyable to more sensitive noses. There's a lot of essence in the pouch so I squeezed a lot onto my palm and massaged it to my mask. That way the sheet mask stays moist for a longer time and I feel more pampered.
This mask fit like a dream. I had just a little extra material drooping under my chin but it wasn't a big deal. The mask clung to my skin well enough that I could walk around and cook in it.
Holika Holika Vitamin + Pineapple Mask - $2.95
It isn't very clear just what type of "vitamin" is in this vitamin and pineapple mask. The fit of this one is just ok; the eyes and mouth holes could have been slightly wider. My face also felt a bit tacky for some time after taking it off. Overall though, it's a comfortable mask.
Mediheal Teatree Care Solution Essential Mask - $3
This is another mask that fit my face very well. The mask contains tea tree oil, which is great for helping combat acne. I put this on right before bed, and in the morning my face felt wonderfully hydrated and acne bumps looked less inflamed.
Leaders Wrinkle-Tox Skin Clinic Mask - $4
Leaders is a superb sheet mask brand. I like the name "Wrinkle-Tox," it's like a play on the word botox, or is it detox? This mask claims to improve elasticity and firmness to aging skin. The ingredients are listed in Korean but PinkSeoul provides full ingredient lists on their website.
Here I'm wearing the Mediheal Teatree Care Solution Essential mask. You can't really smile while wearing it or the mask wrinkles.
Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence 5g sample - $2
What an adorable sample! I've used this essence before and really like it. It is lightweight, scentless, and absorbs very quickly. It does contain bee venom so people with bee allergies should be aware.
Tony Moly Tomatox Massage Pack samples
This massage pack is supposed to help brighten skin with tomato extracts. I didn't see or feel any difference afterwards but it was fun to try.
Missha Soft Finish Sun Milk samples
I'm looking forward to using these sunscreen samples! I'm still in search of the perfect non-sticky sunscreen to wear under makeup.
Verdict: This is such an impressive debut for the PinkSeoul Plus box! PinkSeoul is unique in that they curate boxes based on skin type, which is so smart! All products were carefully and thoughtfully added, and I also enjoyed the variety of skincare items they included. Additionally this is one of the few K-beauty boxes out there that include big-ticket full-sized items. Total retail value is $121.55, more than twice the cost of subscription. However, I should point out that I found the Mizon snail cream for a much cheaper price on Amazon Prime. The cream was the big ticket item but even when accounting for the Amazon price I'd still consider PinkSeoul Plus a good deal.
PinkSeoul Plus is suggested for subscribers age 35+, so it's possible there will be anti-aging products in future months. Still, I enjoyed all the products in this box and I'm not close to 35.
What do you think of the first ever PinkSeoul Plus Box?
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